My Gymnast Girl Turned Fencer

Hi there.

It's been awhile.

Been busy being a gymnast-cum-fencer mom. Why is fencing in the picture now?

Let me tell you a story.

After the disappointments and frustrations in JS' previous gymnastics club, we pulled her out and enrolled her in another club. I found that this club offered better training. Schedule was fluid but served my daugther good for a time.

But being 11 and not there yet is something to think about in gymnastics. What I mean is, at 11, you should have at least built your name and reputation in gymnastics, gaining favor from coaches, coach eyeing you for local and national competitions.

In JS case, she wasn't. Reason being, not thin enough to impress judges. Coach mentioned something like if she sends my daughter for selection for local competitions, she feared that judges or people in the federation would doubt her ability to send girls for selection.

So keep it to international competitions, coach advised.

So we did.

(During this time, in a parallel fencing world, my husband bumped into his old friend whom he discovered was a coach for fencing and the club was near by our place. So we wanted to check out for my son. Went there. Son said no. JS said she wanna give it a go. So went, she did. Four months into training and she joined the club's competition for U11 Epee Fencing in July 2017 and what do we know, she got her first ever gold for fencing at her first ever fencing competition).

Back to gymnastics world, we sent her to Zixi Cup International Rhythmic Gymnastics Championship in China in August, the month after she got her gold medal for epee fencing. In China, JS bagged 3rd (Bronze) individual all round. We were quite ecstatic. Maybe the coach will change her mind now and at least send her for local selections for rhythmic gymnastics.

Didn't happen.

Came another invitation for Queen's Cup in Hong Kong. This time, I really prepared JS. I was in between jobs during this season so I had time to help train at home. And we did. Train. A lot.

Went to Hong Kong in December 2017 well-prepared. I was more ecstatic to witness her bagging her first Gold Medal at an international level for rhythmic gymnastics in Ribbon Routine, even against the two best girls from her club, (girls who had been sent for local selections and local competitions at an individual level), and against other girls from 4 different countries. She got silver for Clubs Routine and 4th place for Ball Routine. It was all good.

Expected a different turn for gymnastics. Again, didn't happen.

Meantime, back to fencing world, she's been training for fencing. She got another gold medal for the second club competition. That means, all this while she's been bagging gold for fencing, I was still expecting that things turn around for her in gymnastics.

Still not sent for local selections. We took a break. From gymnastics.

In February this year, we sent her to Bangkok, Thailand for Thailand Fencing Federation Minime Series for International Fencing Competition. Her first international stint for fencing. And yes, as you can guess, she won gold medal.

Came home. Realised we had to make a choice for her. When we asked her, she said she's ok with anything and we could decide for her. Fencing coach found out JS was taking a break from gymnastics training, and so she recommended more trainings, upped her for U14 training, accepted her for sparring sessions with older fencers and enrolled her for high intensity program on Saturdays.

By the way, JS just came back from Asian Youth Fencing Competition in Macau last week. She didn't get gold but silver medal for this one. But to get a silver medal for a tough competition like this was more than good enough. And she's only into her first year in fencing!

So where at we at right now?

If you're a gymnast/fencer parent, what would you do? Would you still continue to send your child for gymnastics training where chances of getting into even just a bit of local competitions at an individual level is so thin, you can't even see the line?

Believe me, I am still thinking about sending her back for gymnastics, to let her at least graduate from it since we have invested so much in that sport and I feel it's just a waste of whatever investment we did if we let her quit just like that.

Her fencing journey is quite promising.

But my heart is still refusing to let go of gymnastics totally.

If you're in my gymnast/fencing mom shoes, what would you do?